CRI 840

Management of Soft Innovation

The study of innovation within academe has focused almost exclusively on the development of new products, processes, services and management methods that create value through improvements in functional performance. In contrast to this broad area of functional innovation, "soft innovation" refers to the introduction of changes of an aesthetic or intellectual nature that have substantive market impact. This course examines the two types of innovation belonging to this latter category: (1) the creation of new aesthetic or intellectual products (e.g. books, musical recordings, ballets, paintings, video games); and (2) aesthetic innovation in products that are primarily functional (e.g. automotive design). Using case studies from the Creative Industries - the main source of aesthetic products - the course will probe how innovation is cultivated and managed in this industrial sector and will identify new trends in the commercialization of creative content.